The Shadow's Secret
by Lady Kaitlin
Summary: Shifu is surprised when his old childhood friend, Sensei Amami, returns from Japan. What he doesn't know is the full story behind how she got there. Shifu x OC and probably some other pairings.
1. Attacked at the Grotto

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any of the characters involved in the movie. **

**However, Sensei Amami is an OC of mine so she does belong to me. Wanted to give some Kung Fu Panda fics a shot so here goes nothing!**

**Readers and reviews are loved. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

The moon shone through the clear night sky as a gentle breeze chilled the air. Master Shifu walked silently towards one of his meditation spots, the Dragon Grotto. As he came to his favorite mossy rock, he placed his staff down and balanced on top of it. Shifu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. For about an hour, he sat there and simply let peace consume him.

A sudden, nearby sound interrupted his meditation. His ears twitched and he sighed, tried to ignore it. With being so busy training the Five and Po, he was at least hoping for a peaceful night where he could meditate while they slept.

He heard the shuffling sound again, followed by a cough. His eyes snapped open and he looked around. The sound was definitely coming from some animal nearby.

He hopped off his staff and continued to scan the area. He heard another cough and promptly looked in the direction that it came from. He now saw the outline of the animal that made the sound. It was small and walking directly towards him.

Shifu gripped his staff and ran towards the animal. He launched a punch and the animal swiftly rolled away. The animal laughed and stood back up into a sturdy stance.

"Ah a most worthy opponent, I see. Battle it shall be then." A female's voice came from the animal.

She sprung at Shifu and he dodged her. She retaliated with kick that grazed Shifu's shoulder followed by the clanking of both her and Shifu's staffs. She was small, about two inches or so shorter than Shifu and _almost_ as quick as the red panda. Shifu didn't respond with words, but instead with some more punches, staff fighting, and kicks, which the female blocked and retaliated.

The female spun twice in the air and landed a kick that hit Shifu squarely in the chest. He slid backwards, kicking up some mud before getting back up to his feet and finally landing a few blows on the female's arm. He then sent her staff flying through the air. While she was distracted by her staff, Shifu pounced and pinned the female down on the mossy ground.

"We appear to have slightly different styles of fighting. It also appears as if I have lost rather quickly." The female responded angrily.

Shifu could now make out that the animal was an old red fox. The outline of her face reminded him eerily of a former opponent, Junjie. Her voice also seemed familiar, like a distant memory. She had long silver hair that veiled a large portion of her face and a flower tucked in between her hair and right ear. Her black tipped red tail moved back and forth under neither her.

"Who are you and why are you here?" Shifu growled at the calm fox.

The fox simply laughed. She thought Shifu would have noticed who she was by now. Then again, a few decades can change everything.

The red panda glared down at her, angry that she refused to answer and was laughing at the great master. She had also interrupted his mediation for no apparent reason. He grabbed one of her fingers in a Wuxi Finger Hold, hoping it would scare her off a bit, but it didn't seem to make her flinch.

"Why are you holding my finger like that, Shifu? I wouldn't object to you holding my hand if you had just asked, but this finger holding puzzles me." The fox said quizzically and blew some silver hair out of her face.

"Ami?" Shifu's eyes widened as he stared at the beautiful creature underneath him and released her finger.

Her old eyes reflected wisdom and mystery. Perhaps that is what caught Shifu's attention, or maybe the fact that he had been infatuated with this old childhood friend of his so many years ago. Ami and Shifu became friends through Junjie, Ami's cousin, but after only a couple years in China, Ami had moved back away to Japan where she was born. Shifu was devastated, which had perhaps added to his former angry temper. Ami and he were the about same age with her birthday being only two months after his.

"Ah so you do remember me, my dear Shifu! However, I am Sensei Amami now, a master of many different forms of karate." Sensei Amami responded.

"My greatest apologizes, Sensei Amami." He coughed and stood up, releasing the fox from her pinned position.

The old fox remained pinned to the ground and stared up at Shifu. She twisted a piece of her color drowned hair and frowned at the red panda.

"Hum, yes, forget about my former statement. I'd prefer if _you_ called me Ami. Sensei Amami doesn't sound right when you say it, Master Shifu." Amami grinned and sat up off of the ground.

"I'd prefer if you called me just Shifu then as well." Shifu smiled, uncontrollably.

"Now that's a grin I haven't seen in a long time! But I can see that you're still wearing that plain old brown robe." Amami started to laugh, but went into another coughing spasm.

Shifu was about to respond when Amami started coughing again. The red panda knelt down to the right of her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Ami, are you sick?" Shifu asked, concerned.

"Not really, it's just a small cold. That's all. Aren't you still wondering why I'm here?" Amami asked Shifu and continued coughing.

Shifu noticed a few specks of blood on Amami's pink, floral robe from her coughing spasm.

"That doesn't seem like any old cold to me. You should come back to the Jade Palace so I can get you some medicine." Shifu frowned at the red fox.

Amami shrugged and stood up after her coughing spasm. She started walking back towards the direction she had originally come to the Dragon Grotto from. Shifu swiftly appeared in front of her to block her path.

"And where do you think you're going now? I will not let you leave until you are well enough to travel again." Shifu said and pointed his staff at her.

"Relax, Shifu. I'll come back to the palace with you, but I need to get my weapons first." She winked and walked around Shifu, brushing a finger over his goatee.

"Alright." Shifu blushed a bit and waited for Amami to gather her weapons.

Amami retrieved her fallen bow staff a few feet from where the rest of her weapon stash was hidden. She slung the bag that they were contained in over her shoulder. She walked back towards Shifu and smiled.

"Ok, I'm ready to…" Amami began, only to be cut off by another coughing spasm.

While her eyes were squeezed shut from the force of the coughs, Shifu and picked her up and began carrying her. Amami looked at him in shock.

"Why are you carrying me? I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself! My legs aren't broken!" The red fox complained, her tail swinging under neither her from Shifu's stride.

"Get down if you want to then. I'm not stopping you. I was simply trying to make your journey easier." Shifu pointed out.

"Fine I'll let you carry me then." Amami huffed and wrapped her arms around Shifu's neck.

"That's what I thought. You haven't changed at all." Shifu ginned a bit.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two animals made it to the Jade Palace. The Five and Po were still sound to sleep, to the best of Shifu's knowledge. He carried Amami to his own room in the palace. It was hard to carry her, both of their staffs, and to not get smacked by Amami's weaponry bag slung over her shoulder at the same time.

Shifu carefully let the fox down and she stared around at the room. Shifu's room was very tidy and had quite a few paintings on the walls. Amami stared around the room in wonder and one particular drawing caught the fox's attention. Her tail started to swish back and forth as she recognized the drawing.

"Normally I would have had a guest room made up for you, Ami. However, it is rather late so you may stay here for tonight." Shifu explained to the female.

Amami didn't really pay attention to what Shifu said, but was instead still enchanted by the drawing on the wall.

"You…you still have the picture I drew you when we were twelve, Shifu?" Amami said, amazing.

"Yes, yes I do." The red panda coughed and continued on with what he was saying.

"As I was saying, Ami, you may sleep here tonight in my bed and I will stay on the floor. Tomorrow I will have a proper room made up for your stay here. Now, it would be best if you got some rest for that cold of yours. I will go make you some soup and…" Shifu continued, only to be cut off again.

"I'm glad you kept my drawing. I've missed you after I moved to Japan. I'm glad you haven't completely forgotten me. That one year we studied Kung Fu together here wasn't enough." Amami smiled at the drawing and then realized she had interrupted the frowning Shifu.

"Oh and sorry for interrupting. You were saying?" Amami looked at Shifu.

"Nothing important. I was just going to make you some soup for your cold and please rest, you'll get better faster." Shifu walked towards the door.

"Alright." Amami responded.

"And I have missed you, too, Ami." Shifu said softly before he left the room and made his way to the kitchen.

Amami smiled and walked over towards Shifu's bed. She kicked off her traditional Japanese shoes and slid underneath the sheets. She felt bad for indirectly making Shifu sleep on the floor, but she did need to get better. She closed her eyes and moments later felt something placed on her lap. She opened her eyes and saw a soup bowl on top of the sheets. She abruptly sat up and thanked Shifu.

"Yum I haven't eaten in a long time!" Amami exclaimed and began shoveling the soup into her mouth.

"Really, when was the last time you have eating? I still have not heard the full story of why you are here." Shifu look concerned.

"I haven't eaten anything since lunch time. Skipping dinner was torturous. As for my story, I'll tell you after I finish this soup, which is delicious, by the way. I never knew you were such a good cook." Amami said between spoonfuls of soup.

"Oh. You will get along fine with the Panda then." Shifu frowned.

Amami slurped down the rest of the soup and Shifu took the bowl. He placed it on a small table in the corner of the room, planning on returning it to the kitchen in the morning.

"Who's "The Panda"? I thought you were the only panda here? The last time I checked none of your famous students were red pandas like you." Amami pointed out.

"Well he is not a red panda, just a regular black and white one." Shifu paused, but did not get to explain more about Po, the Dragon Warrior, because Amami began talking.

"Oh. Well now I suppose you're suspecting my story now that the soup is gone." The female winked at Shifu who was, indeed, curious about how his old friend had traveled back to China.

Shifu nodded and Amami sat up on top of the covers. She swung her feet off the side of the bed and motioned for Shifu to sit next to her. Shifu frowned skeptically, but sat next to her. The fox cleared her throat and began her story.

"As you know I departed for Japan with my parents when we were both thirteen. Junjie, and his father decided to stay here in China, of course. I was sad that I would be leaving behind my cousin, you, China, and, of course, the new Kung Fu I had learned from Oogway. However, I got to Japan and picked up an interest in many different forms of karate. I have visited my cousin a few times here, but whenever I asked to visit you or even Oogway, Junjie would always tell me you two were busy training and could not be disturbed." The red fox folded her ears forward as the memories consumed her.

"Anyways, I, uh, got your letter and decided to pay you a visit finally." Amami smiled and tried to hide the fact that this last sentence was mostly a lie.

Shifu clenched a fist and looked at Amami. The fox tried to keep eye contact with Shifu, despite the fact that gravity and lack of sleep were trying to close her eyelids.

"I wish I had known when you were visiting your cousin, Ami. I'm sure Oogway would have allowed me a training break. He would have been excited to see you one last time…" Shifu began.

"One last time?" The sensei questioned and coughed.

"I'll explain in the morning. We have a lot of catching up to do. But for now, you need to get some rest. The more sleep you get the faster that cough will go away." The red panda leaped off of the bed and onto his new makeshift one on the floor.

Amami yawned and slipped back under the covers. Guilt still clawed at her stomach for not telling Shifu how she had actually wound up at the Dragon Grotto. If he knew, surly he would throw her out.

"Goodnight, Shifu." The red fox said.

There was no response for a moment and Amami figured that Shifu was already asleep. She sighed and let her eyes snap shut. Within seconds, she fell asleep. Shifu, on the other hand, was actually still awake. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before whispering:

"Goodnight Ami."

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**That's it for chapter 1. Chapter 2 will be up soon! Let me know what you guys think about this story so far!^^**


	2. Responding to a New Arrival

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any of the characters involved in the movie. **

**However, Sensei Amami is an OC of mine so she does belong to me.**

**Readers and reviews are loved. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Shifu felt something heavy on top of him as his eyes slowly opened. He was about to throw whatever was on top of him into the opposite wall of the room when he realized it was Amami. She must have rolled off of Shifu's real bed and was sprawled out on top of him, still fast asleep.

Shifu frowned and carefully rolled out from underneath the fox. Amami's ears twitched and her eyes fluttered open just as Shifu was about to pick her up and place her back on the bed.

"Shifu? What are doing?" She said groggily.

"Nothing. Just leaving to go have breakfast and begin training my students." The red panda let go of Amami and walked towards the door.

"Ok. I'll come to breakfast in a few minutes. And, ah, my throat feels better. Perhaps that cold is gone now." The fox yawned and stretched out her arms.

"That's good." Shifu smiled and said before leaving.

He walked into the kitchen and saw that Po and the Five were already almost done eating. They stared at Shifu as he entered and took a seat. Po gave him a bowl of dumplings.

"Someone woke up late, huh?" Po elbowed his master.

Shifu frowned and looked around at the five. They must have been up at least a half an hour before him, judging by their empty plates. This was extremely unusual for Shifu, as he was usually the first one awake in the morning.

"Yes, Po, I am and I hope you have enough food for another guest." The red panda said before gulping down a dumpling.

As if on cue, Amami entered the kitchen. Her robes were tidy and her long, silver hair was pulled back into a braid. The flower tucked into her right ear remained in tack. The Five stared at Amami and then Shifu in shock.

"Master Shifu, who is this?" Tigress asked.

Before Shifu could answer her, Po ran across the room and looked excitedly at the fox. Amami smiled at him.

"Wow! You must be Sensei Amami! A master of karate from Japan and the cousin of Master Junjie. So awesome!" The panda said, overly excited.

"Yes, that is correct, Po. She is also a childhood friend of mine and will be staying here at the Jade Palace for as long as she needs to." Shifu explained further.

The Furious Five bowed to Sensei Amami and she nodded. Tigress looked at her skeptically.

"Junjie's cousin?" The tiger muttered to herself.

"Thank you both. I will not be here for too long, a month at most. And as a repayment for your kindness, Shifu, I am willing to show your students some of the karate moves I have mastered over the years." The fox smiled innocently and sat down at the table next to Shifu.

"That would be wonderful, thank you Amami. We can also show you some Kung Fu…if you wish." Shifu responded.

Amami nodded excitedly and Po placed a bowl in front of the fox. She ate her dumplings within a matter of seconds.

"Delicious! Thank you, Po. You must be the panda Shifu mentioned to me last night." The sensei bowed to the Dragon Warrior.

"Shifu told you about me? So cool!" Po said and ate a few more dumplings himself.

"Last night?" Tigress, again, muttered under her breath.

"A bit. Though, he did leave out the part about who you were. I have received letters from Shifu about the Furious Five and I don't believe you are one of them. However, you would have to be here for a reason…" Amami pondered.

"Po has been chosen as the Dragon Warrior, Amami. I did mention him in my past couple of letters. I guess I was not to clear about his appearance…" Shifu coughed.

"Letters?" Tigress clenched her fists and stood up from the table.

"The Dragon Warrior! That's amazing! _My_ Shifu gets to train the Dragon Warrior? And I get to meet him? Oh, Po, forgive me for not knowing who you were sooner. It's a huge honor to meet you." Amami grinned excitedly at Po.

"The pleasure is all mine." Po said and slurped down some more noodles he had just made.

"My Shifu?" Tigress pushed in her chair in and head to the door.

"I'm going to go get an early start in the training hall." The tiger said before leaving the room.

"She can be eager sometimes, Ami. Don't worry." Shifu whispered to Amami who nodded and ate the noodles Po placed in front of her.

The sensei was greeted by the remaining four masters in the room. She shared some of her stories from Japan with them until Shifu decided it was time for them to join Tigress in the training hall.

Amami followed Shifu to the training hall, which she was very excited to see. Po followed behind her and asked her a bunch of random questions.

"So what was Shifu like as a kid? Was he a good friend? Was he awesome at Kung Fu the day he started?" The Dragon Warrior began and Amami laughed before answering.

"Well he was rather perfect when he was little. He was a great friend and it was especially amusing to poke fun at him. As for Kung Fu, he showed a great amount of skill on his first day of training. I trained alongside him, with Oogway as our master, for a year until moving to Japan." Amami replied.

"Awesome! Did Junjie train with you guys, too? Was he always made at Shifu back then? And why did you wait to come back to China? Why are you here, anyways?" Po continued as they got closer to the training hall.

"Yes, Junjie is actually the one who introduced me to Shifu. They were alright friends back then, but he always told me he was jealous of Shifu. And I didn't wait to come back to China, technically. I've come in the past a few times to visit Junjie." Amami explained and took a deep breath before answering his last question.

"I'm here to visit Shifu. One of his letters motivated me to come back to China, you could say." The lie now rolled more easily off of Amami's tongue; the guilt, however, continued to build up inside of her.

Before the panda could ask her more questions, they all reached the training hall. Amami stared at it in amazement. Tigress was already whipping through the course. The remaining members of the Five joined her. Amami walked over to Shifu and watched them in awe.

"This training hall is dangerously exciting." She said, thrilled to try it out.

When the Five were finished going over the course a few times, they made their way back to Shifu. He praised them for their hard work as they all panted. Amami rubbed her hands together and turned to look at Shifu.

"Can I have a whack at it?" The sensei asked and the red panda nodded.

Amami continued then to spring onto the course. She carefully hopped on top of the moving, twisted wood. She then propelled herself into the air with a flying side kick. She turned the kick into a roll and landed on top of one of the swinging clubs. Using the swinging motion of the clubs, she threw herself into the air once again. The red fox continued the course by throwing a spread eagle kick and destroying two of the clubs.

Amami dropped from the clubs onto the jade tortoise shell and preformed a few moves of a kata while catching her breath. She pushed off of the shell and twirled in the air. She latched onto one of the talon rings and used them like a set of monkey bars. She then dropped into the mass of wooden warriors. She punched at them and ducked to avoid their spikes that could easily catch on her silver hair or red fur. After the warriors, she entered the flame field and performed a series of tornado and double kicks while avoiding the flames.

She jumped off of the course and caught her breath before repeating it again, but backwards this time. When she finally reached the other masters at the end of the hall, she was panting.

"That…was…so…fun!" She said in between breaths.

"Wow! That was awesome! Those kicks you did were all like wah-shaw!" Po said and tried to imitate the tornado kick Amami had preformed.

"Indeed, those were interesting kicks. Very nice job, Amami." Shifu commented and bowed to the sensei.

Tigress clenched her fists again. Shifu never bowed to her or praised much her like this. What exactly was the relationship between this mysterious woman and Tigress's adoptive father? Tigress had no clue, but she certainly had a bad feeling about the fox.

"Thank you, Shifu. And Po, I could start off by teaching you that tornado kick if you'd like. I could teach it to all of you if you'd like. It's fairly simple, but the key is not to get dizzy while performing it." Amami smiled at Po and the Five.

Tigress bit back the urge to turn down the offer when she saw the excited faces of her comrades.

"I'd love to!" Viper said excitedly followed by some of the others.

"Al right then. Let's go outside somewhere then. It will be easier to kick with more space." Amami said and looked at Shifu.

"Yes, there is a training court yard just outside this hall." Shifu nodded and Amami followed him outside.

Once outside, Amami stared at the beautiful courtyard. It was perfect for them to practice some kicks.

"Alright, I will show all of you a few of my favorite kicks, starting with a double tornado kick. They are not overly difficult to perform, but can be very useful in battle if you are quick enough." The sensei began.

She backed up her statement by throwing a double tornado kick at a plank of wood and slicing it in half.

"Like that." The fox stood up straight and stared at the young masters.

"Now, these kicks can all be adapted to your different styles, just as other Kung Fu moves have. For example, Viper though you don't have legs you can still do your own version of the kick by spinning twice in the air and lashing out with your tail." Amami explained.

The snake nodded and tried out the kick. She performed it almost perfectly, as it was indeed similar to other moves she had learned before.

"Great! Now all of you are free to try it as well." The sensei said.

Crane completed the kick directly after Viper, then Monkey, and finally Mantis. Tigress stood still as she waited for Po to try out the kick before her. The panda took a whack at it, but fell to the ground.

"I feel dizzy..." The panda responded and rubbed his head.

"Yes, dizziness is a definite side effect if you don't focus and control this kick. When you feel recovered, Po, I want you to pick a target." Amami told the panda.

He nodded and stood up after a few moments. He looked around for a target and found a piece of wood next to the one Amami had broken in half earlier.

"Found one!" Po said and stared at the wood.

"Good. Now as you kick make sure to keep your eyes on that plank. Before you throw the kick you must have your eyes directly on the target." Amami said.

Po nodded and tried to kick the plank. He missed it by a few inches, but his kick was more controlled this time.

"That was a nicely controlled kick, Po. However, if you want that wood broken in half you need to stay focused and lock your eyes on it faster. Try again." The red fox spoke.

"Ok. Sure I got this. Come on _wood_, let's fight! Wah-shaw!" The panda said pouncing up and down on his feet.

He steadied his stance and threw the kick at the wood once again. This time it made direct contact and the plank splintered in half. Po smiled at the wood and then at Sensei Amami.

"Haha! Take that _plank_." The panda exclaimed.

Amami giggled and turned to look at Tigress. The tiger blinked and crossed her arms. The red fox just smiled at her innocently.

"Well Master Tigress, would you like to give it a shot?" Amami asked her.

The tiger didn't respond, but instead performed the kick in a seemingly perfect manner. The kick missed Sensei Amami only by a few inches. If the fox had not ducked, the kick most likely would have damaged her left sholder. Tigress landed and looked over at Shifu, but his eyes were glued on Amami. She frowned and a growl tried to escape from her throat.

"Excellent for your first try! However, you need more control so that you don't travel as far when spinning. If that kick had made contact with my shoulder it would surely have done some serious damage. Luckily, it didn't." The fox grinned.

"Well I didn't hit you which I would call "controlled", and it was not really my first try. I've done similar kicks before." The tiger crossed her arms.

"Tigress! That is not how we talk to other masters, _especially_ guests at the Jade Palace. This is very unlike you." Shifu frowned at the tiger.

"Yes, I'm sorry Sensei Amami and Master Shifu." The tiger bowed and her heart dropped; Shifu hardly ever yelled at her.

"It's quite alright. I do see your point. I'll consider that next time." The fox tried to stay possitive and Tigress left the courtyard.

"I'll have to have a word with her latter." Shifu muttered.

Sensei Amami continued to teach the others various kicks and punches for the rest of the afternoon. When it came time for dinner, Amami broke off the training session and they all went to the dining hall for supper. Po made some noodles and Amami helped him cook some soup. In the middle of the meal, Tigress excused herself again. Shifu frowned and was determined to find out why his student was so upset.

"I'll be leaving early as well. I must go speak with Tigress." Shifu said and left the room.

He entered into the student barracks and found Tigress sitting quietly in her room. Shifu walked over and stood at the entrance of the door. Tigress caught site of her master and stood up.

"Master Shifu, please come in." The female bowed.

Shifu took a few steps into the room. He took a minute to formulate what to say to Tigress while she stood there with no apparent emotion.

"Tigress I am very disappointed that you would talk back to another master like that. Why would you do such a thing?" The red panda questioned.

"I'm sorry, Master Shifu. It's just something about that fox makes me feel uneasy. Maybe the fact that she _is_ Junjie's cousin." The tiger began.

"Interesting. But, Junjie and Amami are completely different. Just because they are related does not mean Amami is inherently evil. Junjie and I trained with her for a year before she moved to Japan. She and her cousin are completely different. Not every member in a family is the same." Shifu reassured his student and though about his own theft of a father.

"Yes, but things change with a few decades. Don't you find it odd she showed up here out of the blue today? Or did she?" The tiger questioned.

"Well she, um, showed up here last night. It was unexpected, yes, finding her at the Dragon Grotto…" Shifu said.

"Last night at the Dragon Grotto? How did she get there?" The Tiger interrogated her master further.

"I'm not really sure. She told me she got one of my letters and wished to come visit me. She never did fully explain why she chose to scare me up at the Dragon Grotto, but that's not very important. It seemed like she might have been trying to get away from something, however…" Shifu thought aloud.

"A letter? If you two were pen pals then don't you think maybe one of your other letters might have persuaded her to come and visit you, Master? And if she was running away from something who knows what it could have been! Maybe she's even plotting to bring Junjie here to take over the Jade Palace again! Shifu, I'm having a hard time trusting this Amami _at all_. Who is she to you anyways?" The tiger ranted.

"Tigress, stop this at once! Amami would not plot something like that. She is not a monster! She is a highly skilled master like all of us here. She is a good friend of mine and you should give her a chance before you judge her." Shifu was starting to get really angry at his adopted daughter.

"Just a good friend? You can't seem to take your eyes off of her! And all you have done is praise her! You've been training us for years and I can't remember the last time you gave me a compliment! Shifu, she's only been here for a day!" Tigress raged.

"It is not your concern of who Amami is to me! And that is awfully selfish, Tigress. Compliments are meant to be saved until one actually deserves them. And right now you do not!" Shifu yelled, knitting his eyebrows together.

The tiger growled and Shifu clenched his fists.

"I demand that you at least give Amami a chance. She has valuable fighting experience to share with us. That is all I have to say to you." Shifu turned his back and walked out of her room.

"Fine. I'll give her one chance and we'll see what happens." The tiger said to herself before settling down to get some sleep.

* * *

Shifu returned to the kitchen and it obvious to everyone that his was irritated about something. He sat back down in his chair and Po brought him another bowl of noodles. The red panda ate a few noodles before pushing the bowl aside. Amami noticed how uptight the master was when she had finished making tea and turned away from the stove to face him.

"I guess talking to Tigress didn't go so well?" The fox assumed and began pouring tea for Po, Monkey, and Shifu, the only ones remaining in the kitchen. Crane, Viper, and Mantis had recently left and were on their way to the student barracks.

Amami handed out two cups of tea to Monkey and Po. They began slurping it down as she went back to grab Shifu's cup and her own cup from the counter. She placed Shifu's cup down in front of him and took a sip of her own tea before placing it down on the table. Shifu took a sip of the delicious tea and tried to relax. Amami stood behind him and began to gently massage his shoulders. The red panda sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Amami. That feels nice." Shifu commented.

The fox smiled and continued to massage Shifu's shoulders for a few minutes until her hands were tired. She stopped and took a sip of her nearly cold tea. Shifu got up from his seat and began speaking to Amami about her arrangements to stay at the Jade Palace.

"Oh is Amami going to stay in the student barracks with us?" Po asked excitedly as Monkey quietly stood next to him.

"No, she will not. I have had the room next to mine prepared for her stay." Shifu responded.

"You can come visit me anytime though, Po. I'll be here for a while and I'd love to hear some more of those stories you were telling me about earlier when I was making tea." Amami told the frowning panda.

Po's face brightened and he cleaned up some of the dirty dishes before heading back to the student barracks with Monkey. Amami put away her empty tea cup before following Shifu to where she would be staying. He brought her to a room directly to the left of his. All she had to do was knock on the wall and he could hear her next door. The room was decorated plainly with a bed, side table, dresser, and Amami's weaponry bag and bow staff.

"Wow, thanks Shifu! This room is nice." The fox said.

"I'm glad you like it. Tomorrow there will be plenty of time to go shopping in the village for you to buy some supplies. And I'm sure my students would love another training session with you afterwards." Shifu smiled.

"Shopping would be wonderful and they are a great group. You're very lucky to have such students, Shifu. Especially the Dragon Warrior. That's amazing! I was surprised at first that Oogway chose Po, but now I can see why. He certainly posses many great qualities and seems to be a fast learner." Amami commented.

"Yes, he is a fast learner. It's Tigress I'm worried about. She was acting very strange today." Shifu replied.

"I'm sure she'll be alright. Tigress has a lot of potential. I'll just have to teach her a higher level of martial arts than the others to satisfy her or something. And speaking of Oogway, how is the old turtle? The last time I saw him was, well, before I left to move to Japan…" She asked, changing subjects quickly.

Shifu didn't respond at first. His former master had passed away a few years ago and Amami had no clue. He hated to tell the female about what happened to her first master, not wanting to upset her, but he supposed she needed to know the truth.

"Oogway is no longer a part of this world." The red panda bowed his head in sorrow.

"Oogway is gone? But…then that means…" Amami began.

"That I am now the Grand Master of the Jade Palace, yes." Shifu finished.

"I'm so sorry he's gone, Shifu. Oogway was a great master and I wish I could have said goodbye." Her ears folded over her face and she looked down at the ground in sorrow.

"But you're Grand Master now? That's amazing too!" She punched him playfully to try to lighten up the mood.

He frowned trying to fathom why she would punch him for no reason. Amami yawned and walked over to her bed.

"Well, I better get some rest if we're going to do some shopping tomorrow. That requires at least some valuable energy." The fox smiled and sat down on the bed.

"I agree." He began walking towards his room next door.

"Wait! Shifu!" The old fox called after him.

"Yes, Ami?" He walked back towards her door.

"Goodnight!" Amami grinned.

"Goodnight, Ami. I'll see you tomorrow morning." The red panda responded and smiled before going to sleep himself.

* * *

**Yay here's chapter 2! Let me know what you guys think about it. :) **

**This story has been a blast to write and I've been in a KFP mood so expect the next chapter soon! I'll also try to update some of my other stories soon so stay tuned.~**


	3. Shopping and a Deadline

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any of the characters involved in the movie. **

**However, Sensei Amami, Quon, Neko, Chou, Usagi, and Daisuke are OC's of mine so they do belong to me.**

**Readers and reviews are loved. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

Amami woke up bright and early the next morning. So early, in fact, that she was the first one in the kitchen; or so she thought. The fox smiled and began rummaging through the cabinets to find something to eat. She discovered some almond cookies and began gulping them down. When she went to reach for her third cookie, a black paw snatched it up.

"Hey!" Amami frowned and looked over at who had taken her cookie.

She noticed that Po was standing next to her and now had crumbs all over his face. He looked down at the sensei.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know these were yours." The panda said between mouthfuls.

"They aren't. I found them in the cabinet." The fox smiled.

Po tried to grab another cookie, but Amami grabbed the bowl and slid them away from him. She popped a fourth one in her mouth. Po tried to grab a cookie again, but Amami jumped up on top of the counter and held the bowl over her head. She popped a fifth cookie in her mouth and jumped up on top of one of the ceiling beams.

"Haha, you'll have to fight me for one if you really want a cookie. And fast, or they'll all be gone!" The fox jumped to another ceiling beam, parallel to the first, and balanced on top of it.

"That's no fair, you're way up there!" The panda complained.

Amami smiled evilly and hopped down from the rafters. She placed the bowl of cookies back on the counter. Po tried to reach for one quickly this time, but Amami was faster and he didn't get one.

"Hum, I've got an idea. Why don't we have a little contest and whoever wins gets to eat the last five cookies." The sensei suggested.

"Sure, but there's six cookies left." Po pointed out.

Amami looked down at the bowl and realized her mathematical error. She grabbed the sixth cookie and ate it.

"There, now there are five." She said while chewing the cookie.

"Ya, _now_ there are." The panda frowned.

"What kind of contest is this going to be anyways?" He continued to ask.

"Whatever type of contest you'd like, Po. I'm up for anything." The fox folded her arms and grinned.

"What better than an eating contest, then?" The panda suggested.

"You're absolutely right. An eating contest it will be."

* * *

Shifu sat and meditated in his room by candlelight for most of the long morning hours. He had heard Amami wake up about an hour ago and supposed she would be helping Po make breakfast by now.

With a swift hand motion, Shifu diminished all the candle flames. He stood up and slowly walked towards the kitchen. He smiled as he heard voices in the room. They most certainly were making breakfast…

"Haha! Give up yet, Po?" Amami screeched.

"Nope! Those almond cookies already have my name on them!" Po responded.

"We'll see about that!" The sensei responded.

Shifu gasped as he saw what was going on in the kitchen. Both Po and Amami were gorging themselves with dumplings. The Furious Five were surrounding them, cheering and laughing. Po and Amami were down to one bowl of dumplings. They both ate all but one dumpling, which would determine the winner of the contest.

They fought skillfully with chopsticks for it until Amami noticed Shifu in the doorway. He distracted her for a mere second that allowed Po to snatch the last dumpling and win the contest.

"I win! Those almond cookies are mine!" Po jumped up from the table.

"Shifu!" The sensei said with shock, ignoring the contest for a moment.

"Good morning everyone." The master said simply and sat down at his place at the table.

Amami looked back over at Po who was excited about winning the contest. He had walked over to the counter and grabbed the bowl of cookies.

"Good job, Po. You are free to eat the cookies. Or at least _I_ won't try to stop you from eating them." She grinned at the Five.

Po licked his lips and tried to grab a cookie, but in a flash they were all gone. He frowned at the empty bowl.

"Hey! I thought you said you I was free to eat those cookies and you wouldn't stop me!" The panda exclaimed.

"Correct. But, it was not me who stopped you." Amami said and waved towards the Furious Five.

Each of the Five had taken a cookie and all but Tigress had already gulped theirs down. Tigress handed her cookie back to Po and her face twisted into a brief smile. Po smiled at the tiger and broke the cookie in half. He gave one half to Tigress who thankfully ate it.

The rest of the morning Po and Amami cooked legitimate breakfast for everyone else. Both could not stand to look at another dumpling. When breakfast was finished, Shifu announced that training would not begin until later in the afternoon. The red panda left the kitchen and Amami followed him.

"Are you ready to go into the village?" Shifu asked the red fox.

"Almost. I just need to grab some money." Amami replied and scampered towards her room.

She grabbed her bag that contained all her weapons and fished out her coin pouch. When she found the pouch, she quickly counted up her money. She sighed when she saw there was only a little bit left. She would have to add "job" to her to do list.

Amami walked back towards where Shifu waited for her at the front door. He pulled the door open and they both stepped outside. Amami stared at the enormous flight of stairs between the village and the Jade Palace.

"Hum those stairs are certainly not very convenient ad there's more of them than I remember, but not they are not impossible to climb up and down." The fox commented as she followed Shifu down them.

Within a few minutes, they made it to the heart of the village where Amami smiled at all the shops. They certainly had everything she needed here.

"This is a lovely little village." The sensei said as she walked towards a shop selling clothes.

"Yes it is. The Valley of Peace is a wonderful home." Shifu replied and followed her into the clothing shop.

Amami picked out a few new robes and a silk bag to carry the clothes in. She paid for them all herself, which drained half of her small money pouch. She then used up the rest of her money on seemingly useless things: colored fabrics, a pile of papyrus, a few candles, and flowers. Though her money pouch was now empty, the silk bag she had bought was completely full of merchandise.

"That was fun!" Amami exclaimed as she walked with Shifu aimlessly around the village.

Shifu simply nodded and kept walking. He was wondering why Amami had bought such random items, but he knew she probably had a reason for getting all of them and it was best not to ask.

Amami and Shifu were walking by a noodle shop when Amami spotted a guard from Chorh-Gom Prison a few feet away. She swiftly grabbed Shifu's hand and pulled him into the shop.

"Ami? Why are we going in here?" Shifu frowned.

"The noodles, uh, smelled delicious and I thought maybe we should have a lunch break before we head back." Amami explained to Shifu and let go of his hand.

She glanced nervously outside the shop at the guard who passed by the shop and walked farther into the village. The fox sighed in relief. _I've got to be careful in this village_, she thought. "Alright…" Shifu began, only to be cut off by a familiar voice.

"Shifu! I didn't expect to see you here. Is Po alright? He didn't get hurt did he?" A concerned goose questioned the master.

"Mr. Ping, Po is fine. My friend Amami here just wished to stop to sample some of your noodles." Shifu reassured the goose.

"Oh that's good to here. Please both of you take a seat and I'll get the lady some noodles." Mr. Ping said and walked back to the kitchen.

Amami sat down across from Shifu at one of the tables. Her stomach churned with guilt as lying became easier and easier. Shifu had not seen the guard, which Amami was thankful for. She hated lying to her friend, but at this point she couldn't tell him the truth right now.

"So is the owner of this shop related to Po?" The sensei asked to break the silence.

"Yes, Mr. Ping is Po's father." The red panda told her.

"Really? That's interesting. So I guess he lived here then until he became the Dragon Warrior?" Amami continued.

"That is correct." Shifu responded.

Before Amami could speak further, Mr. Ping returned with a bowl of noodles. He placed it in front of Sensei Amami. He preceded to hand a coupon to her.

"Thank you, Mr. Ping." The fox said graciously.

"Anytime. And please come back anytime! That coupon gives you half off on a bowl of soup. With purchases, of course!" The goose smiled and walked back to the kitchen.

Amami began eating her noodles, even though she was still stuffed from the eating contest. When she was about halfway thru, she stopped and passed the bowl of noodles over to Shifu. At first he refused them, but Amami frowned and ranted that he should eat more. The red panda finally gave in and finished the noodles. Mr. Ping came back to the table to collect the empty bowl and give them the bill. Amami reached in her pouch to grab some money, only to be reminded that it was empty.

"Don't worry, I'll pay for it." Shifu told the fox when he realized she was out of money.

"Thanks." The fox replied gratefully.

* * *

Later that day, Amami stood in the training hall's courtyard in front of all of Shifu's students. After the noodle shop she and Shifu had come right back to the palace and Amami had thrown her new items into her room before reporting to the training hall to continue teaching.

"Alright, today I am going to teach you about kata, or forms. There are several different forms that differ depending on the style of karate. We will start with the few first basic Okinawan style katas. The very first contains five steps, five punches, and three blocks. It goes like this." The sensei explained and proceeded to do the kata.

She did it slowly at first, but then demonstrated the speed up version the second time around. The students picked it up fairly well; each adjusting the form slightly to fit their individual styles.

"Great! Now I'll show you a few more of them." The sensei smiled and began performing more katas.

Kata took about two hours and all of Shifu's students got through a majority of the Okinawan ones along with a few other forms from other styles. Tigress performed them all easily, but found them pointless when they were just performed; it was almost like they were dancing. She was about to comment this when Amami turned towards her.

"Now you're all probably curious as to how these forms pertain to fighting? Well they very much do. Katas can be performed alone for practice and are useful for tournaments, but they are really meant to be used for attacking people if they surround you." Amami smirked and began throwing the first basic kata moves at Tigress.

Tigress quickly blocked the five punches and retaliated with three punches of her own that Amami blocked.

"Like that." The red fox bowed to Tigress and looked at the other students.

"Alright I think that should be enough for today. Tomorrow I'll be taking a meditation brake so you are all free to do whatever Shifu has in store for your training session. But for now, I believe it is dinner time." Amami explained.

She began walking towards the kitchen and the others followed her.

* * *

After dinner was finished, Amami said goodnight to all the Kung Fu masters before retiring to her room. She grabbed the silk bag and began sorting through the things she bought. She placed the papyrus and colored fabrics on the small table next to her bed. _Those will be useful tomorrow_, she thought.

She proceeded to take out the candles and set them up in various places around the room. She put one of the new robes on, a dark pink one, and the rest in her closet. She kept the flowers in the bag, however, so that she could use them as hair accessories in the future.

Amami scampered around her room for another hour while the night rolled on. She heard a muffled knock on the outside of her wall in the back of the room. Slowly, she stepped outside of the room and walked past Shifu's door frame. She saw that the master was fast asleep and he didn't notice her at all.

The fox slipped outside and walked a few feet before meeting up with a tall leopard. Amami nodded to the leopard who kept a straight, emotionless face.

"Well? What does my cousin want now?" Amami said impatiently.

"Junjie still wishes for your assistance. He says you have twelve days to hold up to your end of the bargain." The leopard said.

"Twelve days? I thought we were in agreement of one month. Twelve days is a very short period of time…" The sensei stated.

"Twelve days and no more. Junjie has very clearly changed his mind. If you don't hold up your end of the deal, Junjie has told me to let you know that he will reveal your locations to the guards. He also said that you still owe him. That is all I have to say. Twelve days." The leopard bowed to Amami and melted back into the shadows.

"Less than two weeks…that's about half as much time as before…" The fox began talking to herself when another figure she recognized detached itself from the gloom.

"Okaasan!" A younger male's voice said.

"Quon, my son!" Amami smiled as the male approached her.

Quon smiled and walked over to Amami. His peacock form was now clear as he quickly approached his mother. His white feathers stuck out while his black beak and markings blended in with the night. She hugged her adopted son quickly before questioning him further.

"It's so good to see you! Are the other four of my students alright?" Amami asked nervously.

"Yes. We've kept well hidden in the mountains. I've been continuing training sessions. They've all been doing well. We miss you though, Okaasan. Neko and Chou won't stop talking, like always. Usagi keeps asking me when you're coming back and even Daisuke has been sad lately. He's been talking a lot more than usual." Quon smiled and his wings twitched.

"That's fantastic! I miss them all a lot, too." The fox grinned slightly.

"How has the Jade Palace been in the past two days?" Quon asked.

"It's been great! Shifu seems to be in a pretty good mood. I've been helping train his students a bit to make myself useful. Hopefully when this issue is sorted out with my cousin I can convince Shifu to let the five of you come and train in the Jade Palace. I promised you I would try and try I will." Amami told her son.

"Yes I know you will try. I just hope he does not reject me again…" The peacock frowned.

"I'll try my best to get you into the palace. We'll just have to show Shifu that you're nothing like your father. He can't reject you this time when he sees how good you are at martial arts! In the meantime you can come and visit me every night if you wish. The others are welcome to come as well as long as the guards don't see any of you." She patted the top of Quon's head.

"Alright. Thank you, Okaasan." The peacock's expression brightened a little and he hugged his mother.

"Goodnight, my son. Be careful." Amami told the peacock before he fluttered off towards the mountains.

The fox walked back to the Jade Palace complex and straight towards her room. She almost made it to the room undetected, but Shifu caught site of her as she passed his doorway.

"Ami? Is that you? What were you doing outside this late?" The master asked and was now standing in his doorway.

"I just needed some fresh air, that's all. Goodnight Shifu!" Amami said cheerfully.

"Oh, alright. Goodnight Ami." Shifu said and walked back into his room.

Amami entered her room and plopped down on her bed. It was getting to be so easy to lie to Shifu, but the wall of guilt killed her inside. Amami would have to tell Shifu the truth. _Eventually_.

* * *

**Here is chapter three is after a lot of planning and editing xD. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, I really appreciate it! :) New chapter will be up sometime soon.**

**Edit: I forgot to translate-Okaasan is Japanese for "mother".  
**


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